Question 2: Digital Literacy and Information Fluency

The Process of Information Fluency; Ask, Acquire, Analyse, Apply, Asses.

Homo The Archaeological Findings of Naledi by Professor Lee Berger of Wits University

Thursday, 10 September 2015 marked a historical day for archaeologists as Lee Berger's discovery of Homo Naledi flagged a profound shift in our understanding of the human evolution as new information about the past human species was unearthed. Homo Naledi was discovered in a deep and narrow secret chamber of the remote Rising Star cave system near Johannesburg, South Africa. Paleanthropologist Berger and his team found a massive collection of bones belonging to the newest member of our human family. 

Homo Naledi was named after the chamber in which it was discovered, over 1550 fossils were recovered within the Dinaledi Chamber deep in the Rising Star Caves. Naledi has a curious mix of primitive traits such as, apelike shoulders for swigging, modern hands but with curved fingers with pad like tips (useful for tool making) skinny long bones, primitive Lucy like hip and feet that look indistinguishable from modern human feet and the teeth are a hodgepodge of characters with some human like features such as the molar and premolar roots, a tiny brain and modern features, including long legs determining it was capable of climbing and walking long distances and was also a tool maker, suggesting this peculiar cousin of ours might have taken great pains to dispose of its dead in pitch dark, hard to reach recesses of Rising Star. 


What makes the discovery truly unique is the context of the find and what it tells us about who and what this primitive looking hominid might have been as researches believe that H. Naledi may have done something previously unique to humans. Further investigation showed that the distribution of bones seemed that they had been deposited over a long period of time. It showed that they intentionally put the bodies of its dead into a remote cave chamber described as "ritualised behaviour" as the remains found suggested something unprecedented, ritual burial, a practice thought to be unique to Homo Sapiens.

The creature’s primitive characteristics suggested it was old, perhaps a time close to when our genus, Homo, originated, more than two million years ago. But its modern traits, along with the condition of the bones, which seemed to be only barely fossilised, hinted that H. naledi lived more recently. Depending on the age, the bones would have different implications for understanding how Homo evolved. A team report has dated the remains as decidedly young. H. Naledi is a bit smaller and a lot older than we are, with curved fingers and a small skull but in some ways the species is also strikingly similar to humankind.

The most concrete theory revolving the location of the bones discovery was that Homo Naledi had the highest similarity to modern day humans, reason being that they would bury the bodies of the dead in a cave. This can be interpreted as their ritual behaviour;  similar to a funeral for us humans. Which leads to further questions such as how much of modern day human characteristics did we obtain from Homo Naledi? The much anticipated dating of the enigmatic species, along with the stunning new fossils challenge the key assumptions about human evolution.

Reference List:

https://events.nationalgeographic.com/speakers-bureau/speaker/lee-berger

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-11-02-interview-lee-berger-on-homo-naledi-and-fame/#.WRrF-hRYlZg

https://events.nationalgeographic.com/speakers-bureau/speaker/lee-berger

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-evidence-of-mysterious-homo-naledi-raises-questions-about-how-humans-evolved/

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/09/africa/homo-naledi-ancient-humans/